International real estate fair begins Wednesday

More than 450 national and international representatives of the real estate world will take part in the first-ever Costa Rican Real Estate Fair hosted by the Central American, Panamanian and Dominican Republic Federation (Fecepac). Beginning Wednesday, hundreds of furniture designers, architects, banks, insurance companies, real estate agents and members of the regional real estate community will meet for a five-day event at the Pueblo Antiguo in the Parque de Diversiones theme park in the northwestern San José district of La Uruca.

During the conference, hosted by the Costa Rican Chamber of Real Estate Agents, several presenters will discuss methods to strengthen the international real estate market and relations among different areas of the sector. Workshops and courses will be offered to discuss business strategies and ethics in real estate, as well as financing options for second homes in the Central American region.

“This conference is an opportunity for hundreds of the principal actors at the international level of the real estate industry to meet in person,” said Aleyda Bonilla, president of the Costa Rican Real Estate Agents Chamber. “It will allow people in different areas of real estate to establish and improve relationships and better business practices.”

In addition to national real estate representatives, several big names from the international real estate community are also expected to attend the conference. Frank Biden, brother of U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and ex-director of the legal department for the White House, Teresa King Kinney, CEO of the Real Estate Agents Association in Miami and Jeff Hornberger, director of global alliances for the National Association of Realtors and Developers in Central America and Panama, have all committed to take part in the conference. European and Asian investors are also expected to attend.

The inaugural event for the conference kicks off Wednesday at 10:30 a.m., followed by a real estate auction Thursday night. During the auction, participants can bid on international residential development land, raw commercial land, residences and commercial properties, both online and in person from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. According to Fecepac, some properties will be offered at up to 50 percent of market value.

An auto show for classic cars will be held on Friday, followed by an awards presentation at 6 p.m. that will honor real estate developers for quality construction across a variety of categories. On Sunday, participants in the conference will tee off from Los Sueños resort in Jacó, on the central Pacific coast, for a golf tournament to close the event.

“This event should serve as an incentive to reactivate the Costa Rican economy, opening doors for Costa Rica and international investment,” said Fernando Naranjo, general manager of Banco Nacional, the chief event sponsor. “The goal of the conference is to wake up the business and entrepreneurial interests in the national, international and touristic real estate market. There will be a lot of attractive options.”